Spring bed-bottom



L. G. BOYINGTON. Spring Bed Bottom.

No. 241,916. Patentecl May 24, 1881..

WITNESSES. INVENTOR.

N PETERS. Ptmoulhog'rlpher. Wnhingtun. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC LEVI (J. BOYINGTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

sP RlNG BED-BOTTOM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 241,916, dated May 24, 1881.

Application filed February 5, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEVI O. BOYINGTON, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State 'of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring Bed-Bottoms; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which Figure lrepresents an end view, and Fig. 2 a side view, of a bed-bottom embodying my invention.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts.

My invention relates to that class of bedbottoms known as spring bed-bottoms, and it consists in the combination and construction of the several parts, as hereinafter described and claimed.

Bed-bottoms have heretofore been madeconsisting of a woven-wire fabric stretched from end to end and attached to the end rails of the frame,but they are obj ectionable,for the reason that the fabric has to be stretched to'so great a degree from end to end, for the purpose of obtainingan even and level support for the occupant, as to almost, if not entirely, destroy the elasticity or recoil of the fabric, and so that after it has been in use for a short time it will become depressed or sag in the center, the point or place where support is most needed, and thereby become uncomfortable.

In another instance a bed-bottom has been made by supporting a woven-wire mattress on a series of spiral springs interposed between said mattress and slats arranged transversely between the sides of the bed-bottom framing, but in such instance the woven mattress has been supported along its sides by iron rods extending from end to end of the bed-bottom framing, while the ends of the mattress are connected with and supported by transverse rods supported by the aforesaid side rods. The side rods, which connect withand support the sides of the mattress, owing to their length and unsupported centers, soon become bent downward and inward, dueto strain exerted upon them' by weight of a person sitting upon or occupying the bed, and therefore the mattress loses its original or normal and much-desired form, being unable to resume its normal original shape by pressure of the rod if bent. The end rods, which connect with and support the mattress, are liable to the same objections. These objections are obviated altogether by my invention, because I permanently and directly connect the wovenwire mattress,in a stretched condition, to the end rails of the bed-bottom framing, leaving the sides of the mattress free of rigid central supports; therefore, when the sides of the mat tress are forced or bent downward or inward by weight of a person exerted thereon said sides will, by their resiliency, instantly resume 6 5 their original normal stretched condition.

In the drawings, Arepresents the side rails and B the end rails, of the bed-bottom frame, and which may be made of any known form and material, and united together in any known manner that will be sufficiently firm and strong for the purpose intended.

0 represents the mattress or bed-bottom proper, made of woven wire in the usual manner, the ends only of which are attached to the 7 5 end rails by means of nails or staples, or in any other suitable manner. The woven-wire mattress 0, before being permanently attached to both ends of the rails B, is slightly stretched from end to end, but not to such extent as to destroy the elasticity or recoil of the fabric, but so that the tension thereof shall act as a spring-support. The central portion of the mattress O is raised above the plane of the end rails, B, so as to form a crowning surface, as 8 shown, by the upward thrust of a series of spirally-coiled springs, E, which are arranged below the mattress O, and which are supported by a series of slats, D, which are attached to the side rails, B, in the usual manner. The springs E support the mattress O at the point where the greatest support is needed, and the mattress 0 tends at the same time to hold the springs and prevent them from moving out of their proper position, and so that the spring- 5 support of both the mattress O and springs E is evenly distributed in that portion of the bed bottom where most needed, and conse quen tly makes a more durable bed-bottom than when the fabric or springs are employed sep- 10o arately.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 claim as new, and desire to secure by Let mattress having no other supports than the ters Patent, is-- end rails and spiral springs, all substantially In combination \\ith the end and side rails as and for the purpose specified.

of a bed-bottom and spiral springs supported LEVI O. BOYINGTON.

0n slats connected therewith, a stretched Witnesses:

Woven-wire mattress connected permanently WM. ZIMMERMAN,

and directly with the end rails. said stretched N. GoWLEs. 

